


A Lion Opens His Heart

by noctnis



Series: The Prince of Stars and His New Friends [1]
Category: Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Bonding, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fishing, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Minor Injuries, Panic Attacks, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Indulgent, Worried Noctis Lucis Caelum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25120702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noctnis/pseuds/noctnis
Summary: Squall makes a new friend that has stars in his hair and slowly yet surely opens up to him after a short yet a much-needed talk.akaA part of a self-indulgent Noctis making new friends because he deserves it series.
Relationships: Squall Leonhart & Noctis Lucis Caelum
Series: The Prince of Stars and His New Friends [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1819675
Comments: 5
Kudos: 39





	A Lion Opens His Heart

**Author's Note:**

> also noctis's usual fit has golden trims and designs bc i can do what i want
> 
> also this kinda sucks so sorry if it isnt to ur liking pwp

"Oh, Squall," A man Squall recognizes as Noctis says, placing his fingerless gloved hands on his hips, "You're here too?"

When Squall looks at Noctis, he first observes him donning his usual fatigues with the addition of golden trims and intricate designs on his collar and end edges of his jacket and sleeves, courtesy of Materia. He doesn't remember why exactly Materia changed the design of his clothes, aside from the vague hearing of her saying something about magical protection but still retaining the comfort Noctis always seems to crave when wearing clothing. He then sees the small golden orbs (Added by Cecil and Onion Knight for the sake of their own amusement, he guesses.) that decorate his hair, shimmering from the sunlight bleeding through the tree leaves and making his hair look like a dark galaxy full of glimmering stars.

He blinks at him, resting his body on a tree stump before closing his eyes and turning his head away. "Obviously." He says, before wincing at the realization of how harsh his words sound. He's expecting Noctis to say something along the lines of 'now that's not very nice' or something rightfully hurtful, making him grip his jacket sleeve tightly and pursing his lips with eyes glued shut in anticipation. _Get ready for the harsh words you deserve, you piece of shit_ , he thinks, _This is why you should never open your mouth_.

Instead of saying anything like that, however, Noctis simply laughed with closed eyes, sitting on the ground at the edge of the river and stretching his arms out like a cat basking in the sunlight. "Hah, you're right, my bad," He says, stretching out a bit more before he feels a pop in his back. It made Squall relax his shoulders and the grip on his sleeve, his eyes practically popping out and mouth agape at his expectation being subverted.

"Anyways, you mind if I fish here? The team is getting a bit tired of the rations provided by Materia and I was itching to catch a fish," Noctis asks, turning to face at Squall and his surprised expression before the man himself coughs and his face reverts back into his neutral visage, closing his eyes once more.

"Go nuts," He replies and he hears Noctis make a small satisfied and amused huff before he opens his eyes back open and watches Noctis wave a hand to summon a fishing pole that leaves flakes of shining blue and white before dissipating in the sun's rays. He then throws the line as far as possible, Squall noticing the way Noctis's boots waving childishly back and forth subtly over the water and making minor ripples into it and how he hums a familiar, catchy tune.

Squall doesn't bother saying anything else, watching Noctis tapping his fingers against his fishing pole. It was somewhat odd, Squall thinks, how such a regal looking person is doing the mundane task of fishing simply because he wanted to and also to provide for his recently acquired allies. Though, he reckons everyone that came into this world is full of small surprises. There's a somewhat comfortable silence between the two, aside from the occasional small sound of anticipation from Noctis when he thought he caught something until he gives out a disappointed sigh. 

Before long, however, Noctis gently and awkwardly spoke up, not bothering to turn around and face Squall because of what he assumes is because of his own sheepishness.

"So, what exactly did you do in your world?" He asks, his eyes still concentrated onto the flowing, blue river. Squall pushes himself and unsheathes his blade from the natural sheath of the ground, walking until he is mere inches behind Noctis, tilting his head quizzically. 

"Why do you wanna know?" Squall asks, not meaning to sound accusatory and was actually curious why he wanted to know. Thankfully, Noctis doesn't say anything about the tone of those words, letting one hand go of his fishing pole to scratch his neck.

"Well, it's always good to know who you're working with, right?" Noctis says, his back and forth movements from his legs ceasing and turning his head towards Squall, "Plus, I just want to know you better since you seem to be in your mind a lot, no offense. Ah, but it's cool if you don't want to talk about it." 

"No, it's fine," Squall says as he stabs his gun blade onto the ground next to him and scratching his own neck before sitting down next to him, looking down at the water that ripples when the edge of his shoes hovers over it, "I work for an organization called SeeD." 

Noctis hums and Squall feels his eyes on him, "What kind of organization is it?"

"Mercenary," He replies, fiddling with his fingers and slightly cringing at the sound of leather pulling at leather, "People hire us, we do the dirty work for them."

"Wow, how long have you been doing it?"

"... Is this an interview or something?" Squall huffs, eyebrow perked up and turned to see Noctis and his small smile.

"Ah, sorry," He says, looking back into the water and his eyelids halfway closing, "Didn't mean to sound too overbearing." He can hear him mumble something and the name Ignis, before Squall twists his head left and right and allow a small smile show on his face briefly. It goes away as quickly as it was noticed by the mercenary before Squall waves his hands dismissively.

"It's whatever," Squall reassures, before he rests his waving hand lazily in between his thighs, "I've been there since I was fifteen."

" _Fifteen?_ " Noctis says, surprised, "When I was fifteen, I was still complaining about highschool and playing videogames 24/7." 

"Things happen," Squall says, looking away from the river and honing his eyes on the patches of grass.

"Hm, what and where we grew up from will certainly do that, I reckon," Noctis says. Squall gasps before suddenly feels his throat constricting and his heart pounding, his palms getting sweaty and his pupils dilating.

He sees his father's back as he leaves him and his sister behind at that damned orphanage.

He sees his sister leaving him behind as well, disappearing like everyone else he cherishes does.

He needs to get away, he can't do this again. He can't open up or he'll get hurt again. He has to run away now now _nownownownow_.

"Yeah, whatever," He says with a strain, quickly pulling his blade gun up from the ground with little resistance, "I'm gonna go." He then stumbles away to somewhere, anywhere. He just needed to get away from here.

He hears Noctis call out his name and tells him that camp is the other way, but Squall ignores him and quickly walks in a stride. A maddening mantra of _leave, leave, leave_ plays like a broken record in his head and before he knows it, he is in some unknown area. 

He doesn't have the mind to care, slamming his arm onto a tree trunk and taking a deep breath. He feels like he should be angry, angry at Noctis for digging up bad memories, but the logical part of his head tells him that Noctis didn't really do anything. If anything, he simply unintentionally brought up bad memories and thanks to his fucked up brain, he went on the defensive. 

Just as he was calming down and was about to walk back to find Noctis to awkwardly apologize, he heard a sound from the rustling bushes. He quickly made formed his stance, eyes darting left and right to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. Suddenly, three sabertusks pounced out of the bushes and rammed onto the edge of Squall's blade. 

He gritted his teeth, trying to push them back momentarily before they rammed onto his blade once more. He tried to attempt the same move as before, but the sabertusks quickly got the upper hand and shoved him onto the tree he just slammed an arm on moments earlier. He felt all the air forcibly escape his lungs at the sudden and rough contact on his back, making him groan softly as he shakily attempted to get up and grip his sword weakly, hearing the sabertusks growl in warning.

 _What the hell, Squall_ , he says to himself with malice lacing his voice, _Are you really going to die from a couple of sabertusks? I guess you deserve it. You push people away and now everyone who would save you hates you._

_And now you're going to die a pathetic, lonely death._

As the sabertusk pushes themselves backward to jump him, he closes his eyes and grips his teeth in anticipation, ready for the sharp teeth of the sabertusks drive into his body and ends his entire existence right then and there.

But instead of feeling the sharp pain and his conscious fading, he hears someone call out to him before something slamming onto something else with a resounding clink. He opens his eyes and releases his jaw from the stress of shutting it tight before his eyes go wide open at the sight of the familiar shining, glimmering stars in a black galaxy.

"N…Noctis?" Squall rasps, noticing the familiar shards of blue light floating in the wind that comes and go after Noctis summoned a shield. With a shout, Noctis pushes the sabertusks back and whisks the shield away with a wave of his arm as the sabertusks skidded on the ground until a dust cloud formed where their paws were.

He then whisks a blade onto his hands, an engine like part placed where the cross-guard should be. A burst of white light shines that makes Squall wince, but his awestruck eyes are wide open at the sight of blue, crystalline weapons starting to form a circle and spin carefully around Noctis. When the weapons stop spinning, he hears him take a deep breath and slowly raising up his sword as the sabertusks get ready to pounce.

When the sabertusks pounce on Noctis with a roar, he points the edge of his sword at the sabertusks and all the weapons in their shining glory overwhelm the beasts until they are pushed into the ground. The sabertusks shriek in pain, but Noctis doesn't cease his attack on the beasts despite his shaking arms and his loosening form saying otherwise. 

Soon, the sabertusks fall apart and form into nothing but dark mist, fully disappearing in the sunlight. Noctis and he stare at the dark mist until it fully disappears. They both gave out a sigh in relief and Noctis finally lets himself fell onto the ground. He gasped in small, shallow breaths, gripping his shirt tightly and the ground until the dirt is dug up underneath his nails.

Noctis takes one last shuddering breath, before turning his body around and Squall now notices how pained his face looks with one eye closed and his face twisted. "You.. alright?" Noctis asks with a abrupt gasp in between his words, getting up slowly so that he was in a more comfortable position to look at Squall.

"I…" Squall says but he purses his lips and doesn't continue. He doesn't know what to say, he doesn't even feel like he deserves to say anything. Noctis stares at him with a concerned expression, before hovering his hands into the air until a vial with a green liquid that Squall recognizes as a potion forms in his hand and pops it open. He then pours some of the potion onto his hands, whisks the potion back into his magic void, and gingerly grabs Squall's wrist to pull his arm closer.

" _Hey_ -" Squall scolds, about to reprimand him for wasting a potion on someone like him. Noctis doesn't say anything, doesn’t even look into his eyes as he pulls up Squall's jacket sleeve and massages the green liquid onto his arm. Squall suddenly feels compelled not to say anything anymore as he watches Noctis work until all of his wounds and dirt completely disappear from his body. Noctis then lets his arm go and Squall stared and clenches his fist to see if he feels any discomfort before he rubs his exposed arm out of more or less guilt.

"You shouldn't waste a potion on me," He says quietly, gripping his arm tight as he looks down at the ground and his dirty, dust clad clothing, "There are more important people who need it much more than me, like you yourself."

Noctis looks at him, concerned, and almost offended with his eyebrows furrowed down. "Squall, you were pretty injured- I'm like ninety percent sure that warrants a potion use. Also, compared to you, I'm not even that hurt," Noctis says, placing a heart over his chest and he could feel his piercing blue eyes staring at him with disbelief.

"Look at you, you were practically near passing out earlier. You almost could've _died_ because of me." Squall hisses, locking and narrowing his eyes at Noctis. Noctis himself widens his eyes and shakes his head, gripping his shirt to almost keep himself grounded.

"Oh, gods, no. That whole thing usually happens whenever I use the Royal Arms. Plus, I wanted to handle them as quickly as possible and I recover pretty quickly as long as I don't overdo it so I thought that was the best course of action," Noctis waves his hand as if him bringing himself on the brink of exhaustion is no big deal.

"You are telling me you used a move you knew is _life-threatening_ to your person just to save _me_?" Squall narrows his eyes at Noctis as if he is in disbelief at his own words before leaning forward and gently flicking Noctis's forehead, "Gods, it's like you don't even have a brain in there."

Noctis gave out a small, uneven 'ah!' at the flick, covering his hands over his forehead before nodding a little. "Ok, now that I think about it, yeah, I kinda deserved that," He hisses and rubs the area where he was flicked softly, his expression reminiscent of a dejected puppy. Squall sighs in annoyance, which makes Noctis wince a bit more and he watches Noctis squirm uncomfortably.

"... Honestly, you were better off leaving me dead," He says, looking away from Noctis and crossing his arms, "You shouldn't waste your time on a person like me." It was a bit cynical, perhaps even a bit out of character for the mercenary to say those words, but honestly, it was true in his head. Why try to save someone who has nothing, who has no reason to live?

"You don't mean that," Noctis says, shaking his head, "Don't you have people waiting for you in your world?"

"… I do." He admits. He can feel the beam on Noctis's subtle smile at the almost confession.

"Right? And don't you have a dream?"

"A dream?"

"Yeah, like, uh, something you want to do once you're done fighting or something," He says as he scratches his neck at his weird, not so informative explanation.

"Do you have a dream?"

"I do, but I don't think I can ever fulfill it," Noctis says a bit grimly. Squall doesn't feel the need to push the reason for why not to him, plus Noctis seems a bit uncomfortable talking about it, so he doesn't bother inquiring it further.

"... What is it?"

"I really want… to become a fisherman. Become a fisherman and travel the seas." He says, quietly bashful at his childish sounding dream, "It's kinda dumb but-"

"No," He interrupts, "It's what you want to do most, right? It's not dumb if you're serious about it." Noctis stares at him, before nodding his head with the straight-line mouth of his quirking up in a too subtle smile.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right," Noctis laughs, before relaxing onto the ground as he crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly towards Squall, "So what's your dream?"

"Mine?" He asks.

"Yeah?" Noctis says, his mocking tone sounding like 'who else?'

Squall blinks, before he starts picking at the invisible hangnails on his gloved hand, closing his eyes in thought. His dream? He never thought much about it, being a mercenary and all, but he guesses if he did have one…

"I want… to fill this world with flowers," He says, getting up and Noctis following him by standing up as well, "Because flowers help people relax, right? So if the world is filled with flowers, everyone would be happy." 

Noctis blinks at him, eyes wide, but instead of making fun of Squall about how childish his dream sounded, he gives him a tiny smile and nods once more.

"That sounds like a pretty good dream," Noctis says, walking ahead of Squall as he uses the palm of his hands to support the back of his hands, making Squall follow closely behind as Noctis turns his head, "And if ya want, I can help you. Ya know, plant them. I enjoy gardening every now and then." 

"That sounds nice," Squall says with a subtle smile of his own and closing his eyes in content, "I would… appreciate it." The words of thanks feel and sound awkward on his tongue and ears, but the 'yep' that leaves Noctis's lips strangely reassures him. He then grins at Squall, his eyes turning into crescents when he turns his head towards him, "See, now you have a reason to live on."

"I guess." Squall agrees, and Noctis makes a small noise that gives off a smug like pride before he turns his head forward as the two then start to walk back to camp to meet with the others. There's a momentary silence between the two after that until Squall, for the first time, decides to speak up to make idle conversation.

"Noctis-"

"Noct," Noctis interrupts, not turning to face him, but Squall can imagine the shy look on Noctis's face, "My friends call me Noct." 

Squall makes a small sound before he huffs in amusement- he never got to call someone by a nickname before, much less a friend. " _Noct_ ," He corrects himself, resting the non-sharp part of his blade on his shoulder and places a hand on his hips, "Don'tcha have any more questions for me to answer?"

".. If ya don't mind me asking." 

"It's whatever. We have all the time in the world until we get back to our respective ones, after all," Squall says nonchalantly, shrugging.

"Hmm, then … how did you get that scar on your face?"

Squall hovers his free hands over his face where the scar that is cut through the bridge of his nose, a physical characteristic that shows how different he is compared to others "… It's a long story."

"Like you said, we have all the time in the world, don't we?" Noctis shrugs, stretching before placing his hands back on the back of his neck, "I don't mind a long story." Squall huffs and rolls his eyes at his words being used against him so quickly.

But despite his outward annoyance, his once empty soul almost feels satisfyingly full, as he slowly allows himself to open his heart to the man with stars in his hair.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on twitter to see me cry about noctis @noctnis


End file.
